The first-year cadets added five trophies to the case, bringing the total for Quantico’s JROTC to 44. The students were up against tough interservice competition provided by Navy, Coast Guard and other Marine JROTCs.

‘‘Don’t let him fool you, it is tough competition,” said retired Maj. Rich Schafer, director of Region 1, who was visiting the students for a yearly Training and Education Command’s commanding general‘s inspection. ‘‘With 22 school, and five to 600 cadets - it was tough.”

Out of the four categories, the cadets took first place honors in the armed and unarmed drill competitions, third in the personnel inspection, and Quantico’s color guard placed first.

‘‘These are a great group of kids and we have never really had a down year,” said retired Lt. Col. Paul Roy. ‘‘We basically just steer and these guys do the paddling. Most are self-starters and motivated.”

Not only did the cadets do well in the group competitions, they had one cadet place third in the ‘‘knock-out” competition, which is sort of like ‘‘Simon Says” with drill maneuvers.

‘‘For example, the instructor calls out a right-face while at shoulder-arms, which you can’t do,” said retired Sgt. Maj. Jose Diaz. ‘‘Well, you can’t do that. So if the cadet moved, they would be out.”

The knock out competition grades each cadet individually and began with almost 600 cadets on the floor. The field was narrowed until only 10 cadets were standing. By the time the cadets were narrowed to the last 13, there were two Marines left in the running.

‘‘We were in the stands screaming, ‘Go devil dog. Stay in the fight,’” Diaz said, remembering the adrenaline running through his veins.

‘‘It was pretty intense. Especially after all the work and training we put into it,” said the color guard commander, Cadet Cpl. Robert Davis, who placed third in the knock out competition.

The cadets invest a lot of time, arriving at the school every morning at 6:30 for practice, but Davis attributes his academic success to his JROTC experience.

‘‘I believe I have more bearing. I say, ‘Yes sir, no sir,’ a lot more. And I’m more polite,” he said. ‘‘I also have to really say on top of my grades.”

Diaz says it is the parents enabling the cadets to succeed.

‘‘It’s not just the kids. It’s the parents who get them here every day at 0-dark-30,” he said. ‘‘Especially since most of the students play sports. It makes for a long day.”

Schafer agreed, ‘‘Quantico is a flagship program. These are sons and daughters of Marines, so you expect them to do well.”